Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo

24 reviews

joanna_banana's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This took me back to West Africa! Bamana felt most like Ghana and the cultural references aligned linguistically and ethnically with Ghana. However, the place names were from Mali! Threw me off a little. It’s a sweet story of self-discovery and identity. Some good commentary on Western bias. I overall enjoyed it. The audio book was quite a good listen, the narrator did an excellent job differentiating the accents.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Racism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Slavery

Minor: Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

lauren16297's review against another edition

challenging hopeful mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

basil_touche's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was such a well paced story, with a subtly that really brought the fictional country of Bamana to life. I found it was a breeze to read through while allowing the reader into the headspace of Anna, whose longing for connection was palpable and her decisions, while some I may disagree with, only made her feel more like a real person. Anna's feelings of isolation, of her experiences of racism in the uk, to being seen as a white tourist in Bamana, was heartbreaking and I really wanted to see her have some closure by the end.

Her relationship with her father was interesting and by the end it is left up to the reader to decide if he was the dictator many said he was

tricking Anna into imprisonment does leave some credence but he also freed the country from British rule and does show care to Anna, as examples

. Francis Aggrey or Kofi Adjei?

It is a book about identity, race,  being mixed-race, fatherhood and the impact colonialism has on the countries it has effected. I did find the ending a bit rushed (

although beautiful where Anna meets her ancestors

) and some things weren't as fully explored I as wished but this is still a book I enjoyed very much 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

Moderate: Eating disorder, Violence, Confinement, and Infidelity

Minor: Slavery, Dementia, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

kitten's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Racism, and Racial slurs

lay_kone's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Cancer, Confinement, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Violence, Confinement, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Animal death

katharina90's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

This story has potential but lacks oomph. It scratches the surface of many interesting and complex topics, but none are explored in depth. 

The main character is immature and the rest are equally unlikeable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Death of parent, and Misogyny

Minor: Colonisation, Fatphobia, and War

karmapen's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Abandonment

Moderate: Eating disorder, Child abuse, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Dementia

maxinebrigue's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Racism, War, Child abuse, and Racial slurs

sparklycowboy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I didn’t think a book about a woman searching for her father would be so engaging! What a wonderful story with a diverse and creative set of characters. I absolutely loved being inside Anna’s head as she became more self aware and blossomed into another version of herself. 

The extensive metaphors of colonized and decolonized thought created some of the most interesting scenes in the book. It was insightful to get a glimpse into the experiences of a mixed race woman navigating different cultures— the dominant white, western culture in London, and a colonized/post colonial African country. 

I listened to the audiobook and loved the narration. I enjoyed book so much I think I’ll get a hard copy just to read again. :)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder

Minor: Child abuse and Racism

lanid's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Grief, Dementia, Infidelity, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Bullying, Colonisation, Body shaming, Confinement, and Racism